


(It Took Me By) Surprise

by lydiamartenism



Series: Magic Moments [2]
Category: Call the Midwife, game of thrones
Genre: Call the Midwife AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:08:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22156798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lydiamartenism/pseuds/lydiamartenism
Summary: Sansa had been avoiding the reverend as much as possible since that luncheon. She was determined to focus on her career and nothing else. After all, she’d moved to Poplar to be a nurse and a midwife, not find a husband. Not to get romantically entangled with someone. If she had wanted that she would have continued her miserable engagement to Joffrey and being the dutiful and perfect Lord’s daughter up North.
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Series: Magic Moments [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/367004
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	(It Took Me By) Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously I don't own anything Game of Thrones or Call the Midwife related. I hope you enjoy this story!

Sansa had been avoiding the reverend as much as possible since that luncheon. She was determined to focus on her career and nothing else. After all, she’d moved to Poplar to be a nurse and a midwife, not find a husband. Not to get romantically entangled with someone. If she had wanted that she would have continued her miserable engagement to Joffrey and being the dutiful and perfect Lord’s daughter up North. 

However, now she had no choice. The reverend was helping her console a family after a delivery where the baby was stillborn. 

It had been entirely unexpected. The pregnancy was completely healthy and normal. It wasn’t something Sansa was prepared for in the least, but it was something she had unfortunately, experienced before.

She’d phoned Maegor House immediately and the first knock hadn’t been Doctor Tarly, but Reverend Snow. She’s shaken off the shock quickly and led him to the family. She had delivered the placenta and sewed up the tearing before Doctor Tarly arrived. Once he did, she focused on comforting the mother and occupying the older children.

She doesn’t leave the house for a long time after the delivery. She’s packing her medical bag onto her bike when a voice stops her. 

“Nurse Stark, I was hoping to speak to you,” Reverend Snow says, pulling on his coat.

She tightens her burgundy cape around her shoulders, “Can it wait until tomorrow? It has been a very long day, Reverend.”

“I just wanted to check in with you after today. That must have been hard…” he says, his voice soft and cautious. 

Sansa is quiet, fidgeting a little with the straps on the canvas that covers her medical bag for several moments. 

“It comes with the job. We try our best and monitor the mothers as best we can, but sometimes...sometimes things are out of our control and things end tragically despite our best efforts..” she says calmly. 

It’s his turn to be silent, to be caught off guard. 

“Perhaps, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult for you. You’re invested as well…” he offers. 

“I am, but it’s not my child and at the end of the day if I did my job well and did everything I could to try and prevent this from happening, then I can leave with my conscious clear,” she says, “Is that all Reverend? I would like to get back to Maegor House so I can shower before the hot water is gone and get some sleep if there is nothing else.” 

Reverend Snow is taken aback by her response. She waits there with her bike balanced in one hand and her hand on her other hip, an impatient look on her face. He takes in a deep breath and nods. 

“Yes, that is all. Just...if you need anything at all. Just to talk or...for anything, you know where to find me,” he says, tucking his hands into his pockets and turning back into the building. 

She watches him for a moment before she swings onto her bike and starts pedaling towards home. 

She collapses into bed and is fast asleep before she’s even had time to look at the clock. 

She doesn’t wake until her roommate, Jeyne, shakes her awake with an emergency at the parish. She quickly gets dressed and throws on her clothes. They’re the only two available and Sansa is the most senior midwife and her roommate the newest. 

She grabs her medical bag and soon they’re bursting into the parish. She barely notices the reverend and they quickly get to work. They examine her and coach her through her labor. Everything goes as smoothly as possible and Sansa lets Jeyne get the woman and her baby back to their home. In the meantime, Sansa rolls up her sleeves and puts on gloves to get the floor of the parish cleaned up. 

“Let me help you,” Reverend Snow says.

She glances up, “You don’t have to. Truly. I can handle it.” 

It’s useless; he’s already rolling up his sleeves and getting down to help her.

She sighs and hands him a pair of gloves and a sponge.

“It’ll go faster if I help you. I know I woke you all when you were supposed to be resting for your next shift,” he says.

She nods, “You’re not wrong, but it’s our job. You’re supposed to be able to come to us in need and receive the help you require. It’s why I became a nurse instead of staying in the north. So I could do more than just throw parties and marry and...bear some man of suitable bearing lots of tiny children. A life with very little deeper meaning.” 

There is quiet besides the sound of the brush bristles against stone between them for several long moments.   
“My family is from the north as well. We...we weren’t wealthy, but I understand leaving to lead a life with more meaning…” he says. 

She nods. She truly isn’t sure what to say. She doesn’t know why she opened up to him about why she became a nurse and she isn’t sure what to say about his confession. 

“I...well, if it’s worth anything, the parish members I’ve met love you,” she tells him, “I...I don’t go to many services, but...all the women I treat have nothing but brilliant things to say about you.”

She wouldn’t add that they all thought that they would make a “striking pair” and that she was “wasting time” the longer she was unmarried. Most of the older women in the community thought she was getting much too old to still be single. 

His cheeks flush, “Well all of the families I’ve spoken with say glowing things about you...as well as the other nurses and the Sisters of Maegor House.” 

“Well we really appreciate all of them. They’re like...family,” she shrugs. “We’re all so far from our families except for Mya. She’s born and raised in Poplar for generations of her family.” 

He nods, “It must be hard to be so far from family.” 

Sansa doesn’t say anything for awhile. She just continues scrubbing the floor and her face has taken on a deeply pensive look. 

“Harder for some of us than others...some of us were running away from our old lives…” she admits. 

Another long silence passes as he tries to ask about it. He can’t seem to get anything out and by the time he can figure out how to ask her to elaborate, the floor is clean and she is gathering her things to leave suddenly. 

The doors to the church are open wide and only a flash of red hard can be seen in the very early morning light to indicate she was ever there with him at all. 

Jon chuckled lightly to himself before he cleaned up the parish and returned home for the night.


End file.
